Friday, December 17th 2021, 9:04 pm
A Sand Springs man has the greatest gift imaginable this year: life, after a woman donated her kidney to him earlier this year.
He didn't realize until Friday, not only did he know her, but she was the daughter of one of his dear friends.
Marci Rogers wanted to donate her kidney to her dad but wasn't a match, and after he passed away, she still wanted to give it to someone.
She knew exactly who she wanted to help.
Rogers remembers her dad Charles Scott as a kind and generous Christian man.
"He is the most selfless person I knew," Marci said.
Her dad got a kidney transplant in 2009, but got sick again, and Marci wasn't a match. He passed away in 2020.
"The day of my dad's visitation, Charles came walking by," said Marci.
The other Charles is Charles McGee.
He knew he was meeting his kidney donor Friday but didn't know who it was.
"You're getting ready to meet the lady," someone told Charles.
"Right now? Oh ok," he said.
"Are you the donor?" McGee asked.
"I'm so happy to be here," Marci said.
"I'm happy you did this," McGee said. "I can't believe anybody would be so generous."
Then, McGee had the realization.
Charles McGee and Marci's dad became good friends while getting dialysis together.
And Marci graduated with McGee's daughter.
McGee even attended her dad's funeral.
"We were dialysis buddies," McGee said.
McGee had stage four kidney disease and had been on dialysis for a few years.
He says he was starting to lose hope, until he got a phone call that he had a perfect match.
"They said, 'Do you still want a kidney?' I was like 'Does a bear sleep in the woods?'" McGee said.
"In my wildest dreams I would've never thought this," he added.
There was another surprise: special gifts for each other.
A personal keychain for Marci, and a pillow for McGee.
"This is my dad's favorite shirt to wear to dialysis because it kept him so warm," said Marci.
Marci said her dad is smiling down from heaven today.
McGee now has the gift of lasting friendship, and a new, happy life.
"You're a Godsend," McGee told Marci.
"I'm so happy I could do it for you," Marci said.
Ascension St. John wants to emphasize anyone can be a living kidney donor and get on their list to save a life just like Marci.
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